37Th AIRLIFT SQUADRON
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37th AIRLIFT SQUADRON MISSION LINEAGE 37th Transport Squadron constituted, 2 Feb 1942 Activated, 14 Feb 1942 Redesignated 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, 4 Jul 1942 Redesignated 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, 23 Jun 1948 Redesignated 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy, 8 Oct 1949 Redesignated 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, 28 Jan 1950 Inactivated, 8 May 1952 Activated, 8 May 1952 Inactivated, 18 Jun 1957 Redesignated 37th Troop Carrier Squadron and activated, 17 May 1966 Organized, 1 Oct 1966 Redesignated 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 1 May 1967 Redesignated 37th Airlift Squadron, 1 Apr 1992 STATIONS Patterson Field, OH, 14 Feb 1942 Bowman Field, KY, 16 Jun 1942 Lawson Field, GA, 9 Aug 1942 Del Valle, TX, 29 Sep–12 Nov 1942 Deversoir, Egypt, 23 Nov 1942 El Adem, Libya, 10 Dec 1942 Deversoir, Egypt, 23 Dec 1942 Marble Arch, Libya, 11 Jan 1943 Ismailia, Egypt, 25 Jan 1943 Fayid, Egypt, 14 Feb 1943 El Kabrit, Egypt, 28 May 1943 El Aouina, Tunisia, 16 Oct 1943 Borizzo, Sicily, 29 Nov 1943–16 Feb 1944 Cottesmore, England, 18 Feb 1944–10 May 1945 Pope Field, NC, 19 Jun 1945 Greenville AAB (later, AFB), SC, 30 Jul 1946 Smyrna (later, Sewart) AFB, TN, 4 Nov 1949–4 Sep 1950 Ashiya AB, Japan, 11 Sep 1950 Komaki AB, Japan (operated from Ashiya AB, Japan), 29 Nov 1950 Ashiya AB, Japan, 11 Feb–8 May 1952 Sewart AFB, TN, 8 May 1952–15 Nov 1954 Ashiya AB, Japan, 15 Nov 1954–18 Jun 1957 Langley AFB, VA, 1 Oct 1966–30 Sep 1977 Rhein-Main AB, Germany, 1 Oct 1977 Ramstein AB, Germany, 1 Oct 1994 DEPLOYED STATIONS RAF Mildenhall, England, 24 Nov 1968–26 Feb 1969 Rhein-Main AB, Germany, 13 Jul–26 Sep 1969 RAF Mildenhall, England, 24 Feb–11 May 1970 Rhein-Main AB, Germany, 7 Feb–13 Apr 1971 RAF Mildenhall, England, 13 Jan–14 Mar 1972 Ching Chaun Kang AB, Taiwan, 6 Dec 1972–15 Mar 1973 RAF Mildenhall, England, 31 Aug–1 Oct 1973 Rhein-Main AB, Germany, 5 Apr–15 Jun 1975 ASSIGNMENTS 316th Transport (later 316th Troop Carrier) Group, 14 Feb 1942–8 May 1952 316th Troop Carrier Group, 8 May 1952–18 Jun 1957 Tactical Air Command, 17 May 1966 316th Troop Carrier (later, 316th Tactical Airlift) Wing, 1 Oct 1966 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, 15 Sep 1975 435th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Oct 1977 435th Tactical Airlift Group, 15 Dec 1978 435th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Jun 1980 435th Operations Group, 1 Apr 1992 86th Operations Group, 1 Oct 1994 ATTACHMENTS 314th Troop Carrier Group, 21 Aug 1950–8 May 1952 WEAPON SYSTEMS C–47, 1942 C-47A C-47B C–109, 1944–1945 C–46F, 1946–1947 C–82A, 1947–1950 C–119, 1950–1952. C–119, 1952–1957 C-119A C-119B C-119C C–130, 1966 COMMANDERS HONORS Service Streamers World War II American Theater Campaign Streamers World War II Egypt-Libya Tunisia Naples-Foggia Rome-Arno Normandy Northern France Rhineland Central Europe Korea UN Offensive, with Arrowhead CCF Intervention First UN Counteroffensive with Arrowhead CCF Spring Offensive UN Summer-Fall Offensive Second Korean Winter Southwest Asia Defense of Saudi Arabia Liberation and Defense of Kuwait Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers None Decorations Distinguished Unit Citations Middle East, 25 Nov 1942–25 Aug 1943 France, [6–7] Jun 1944 Korea, 28 Nov–10 Dec 1950 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards 1 May 1967–30 Apr 1969 1 May 1970–30 Apr 1972 1 May 1972–30 Apr 1974 15 Sep 1975–30 Apr 1977 1 Jul 1978–30 Jun 1980 1 Jul 1981–30 Jun 1983 1 Jul 1983–30 Jun 1985 1 Jul 1985–30 Jun 1987 1 Jul 1987–30 Jun 1989 1 Jul 1989–30 Jun 1991 Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation 1 Jul 1951–[8 May 1952] Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm 1 Oct 1967–28 Jan 1973 EMBLEM 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium emblems 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron emblem 37th Airlift Squadron emblem: on a disc Azure, fimbriated Light Blue, a cloud charged with a “Blue Tail Fly” resting on the body of a stylistic aircraft Volant, all Proper, all within a narrow border of the first. Attached above the disc, a White scroll edged with a narrow Blue border and inscribed “BLUE TAIL FLIES” in Blue letters. Attached below the disc, a White scroll edged with a narrow Blue border and inscribed "37TH AIRLIFT SQ” in Blue letters. Ultramarine blue and Air Force yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. The fly represents the Squadron’s historic tactical airlift mission which involves landing on small airfields, as well as being omnipresent during military operations. The fly’s body is Air Force yellow imposed on a blue disk representing the sky in Air Force blue, and the large load the fly is carrying under its belly symbolizes the heavy load tactical airlift brings to the warfighters. The green wings and the barren gray symbolize the various environments in which the Squadron delivers material, and the blue tips of the tail exemplify the Squadron’s nickname, “Blue Tail Flies.” (Approved, 6 Jul 1951) MOTTO NICKNAME OPERATIONS During World War II, included airborne assaults on Normandy, Holland, and Germany; aerial transportation in MTO and ETO. In the Korean War, flew airborne assaults at Sukchon/Sunchon and Munsan-ni; aerial transportation between Japan and Korea. While deployed in Taiwan, crews of the 37th flew to Hanoi on 17 Feb 1973 in support of Operation Homecoming, the repatriation of American prisoners of war to Clark AB, Philippines, on 5 Mar 1973. Airlift operations during Operation Desert Shield/Storm in Southwest Asia, 14 Aug 1990–29 Mar 1991. Airdropped humanitarian supplies in Operation Provide Comfort for the relief of fleeing Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq, Apr–May 1991. Airlift and airdrop missions to Bosnia–Herzegonia for Operation Provide Promise, Jul 1992. In April 1996, the 86th responded to a Noncombatant Evacuation Order, from the nation of Liberia as part of Operation Assured Response. Eight aeromedical personnel and two C-130s with 50 personnel deployed to Dakar, Senegal. During the two week operation, C-130 aircrews flew 30 missions and evacuated 632 Americans. From February to March 1997, the wing executed Operation Assured Lift with five C-130s and 147 personnel delivering peacekeepers of the Economic Community of West African to Liberia. In March 1997, the wing’s Contingency Operations Flight supported another NEO, Operation Silver Wake, this time in the Balkan state of Albania. The 86th AW personnel oversaw 62 missions by CH-46s, CH-47s and CH-53s moving 1,550 evacuees. For its support of Joint Guard and Assured Lift, along with numerous other contingencies during the period of July, 1996 to June, 1997, the 86th AW received its seventh Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. During Atlas Response, a new capability was provided by a 37th AS C-130E, serial number 68- 0938, the first USAF C-130 to undergo Keen Sage camera system modification. The Keen Sage system was mounted in a metal-encased sphere, slightly larger than a basketball, housing three sophisticated video-capture lenses -- a daylight television, a 955mm fixed focal length zoom and infrared in six fields -- mounted on a pallet and strapped down in the cargo hold of the Hercules. Controlled by two operators in the aircraft, the lenses scan full circle and along 90 degrees of elevation and the airborne camera operators can beam live analog video and digitally-captured still images back to a ground station, where it could be recorded and sent to relief organizations and other users. Atlas Response was the first operational deployment of a C-130 with the Keen Sage camera system, and the 37th C-130 flew 39 sorties using this new capability to search for displaced refugees so they could be provided humanitarian assistance. Eventually the wing received eight Keen Sage configured aircraft. Beginning February 14, the 37th Airlift Squadron began using its Keen Sage equipped C-130s to conduct observation missions over Iraq in preparation for possible action. The squadron flew a total of 14 missions, most at night, covering five to 15 targets per flight. To honor this rather “un-airlifty” operation, the crews gave themselves the name of the “37th Airlift Reconnaissance Squadron.” An aircrew from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, carried out the first C- 130 relief mission to the war-torn Republic of Georgia on 15 July, two days after humanitarian operations began. After a seven-hour flight from Ramstein to Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia, loadmasters, 86th Air Mobility Squadron aerial porters, and a Georgian civilian company offloaded the pallets of medicine, clothing, sleeping bags, and other essential items from the unit's 1960s-vintage C-130Es. As of 11 August, both US Air Force and Navy C-130 crews have flown most of the thirty-six airlift missions into Tbilisi. As of that date, more than 1,000,000 pounds of relief supplies have been delivered to Georgia via air or sea. The 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany, supported a high-altitude, low-opening airdrop training exercise in Bosnia in August. The unit's C-130s dropped 13 US jumpers from Ramstein, Stuttgart, and RAF Lakenheath, Britain, along with three Bosnian jumpers near Banja Luka. HALO operations feature a long free fail followed by a low-altitude parachute opening. 2007 US Air Forces in Europe yesterday celebrated the arrival of its first C-130J transport.